pAs the train pulled into Hogsmeade, Thorfinn and Hermione went back to the compartment. The children had already changed into their school robes and were waiting for them. They guided them off the train and over to Hagrid. There, they hugged them before taking a carriage on up to the school. As they filed into the school, Thorfinn kept a hand on Hermione's back. McGonagall waited at the top of the stairs. She gazed approvingly at the two of them. It was exactly why she'd hired him as the new flying instructor. /p
pThey went to the Great Hall for the Welcoming Feast. Though she'd been a teacher for the past five years, Hermione still felt weird sitting at the teacher's table instead of the Gryffindor table. After they were settled, the doors opened, and the older students streamed in. Soon it would be time for the first years to be Sorted. As the doors opened once more, allowing a stream of first into the room, the teachers watched as the students let out gasps of awe. Hermione watched as several boys shoved into Hugo repeatedly. She frowned as she took note of what they looked like. Thorfinn smiled proudly as Stryker frowned and shoved back at them, keeping Hugo in front of him. They quickly backed down from the youngster, already head and shoulders taller than the other students. /p
pShe tapped her glass to get everyone's attention. "Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts. We are very happy to see you. First of all, we would like to welcome a new teacher, Thorfinn Rowle. He will be your new flying instructor. Next an announcement for the upperclassmen. You will have a rotating Potions schedule as we have no regular Potions teacher yet. For now, your transfiguration teacher and flying instructor, along with a few others, will be your teachers. We will be rectifying this situation as soon as possible. Now on to the Sorting."/p
pAs McGonagall had always called the first years until she moved up to headmistress, it was now Hermione's job as Transfiguration teacher to call the students for sorting. She stood beside the stool and started calling names. Slowly, the empty benches began filling up with Sorted students. Some went to the houses they expected while others were caught off guard by where they landed. Harry's older son James went to Gryffindor while his younger son went to Slytherin. Draco's son went to Slytherin. Then it came time for the Rowle twins and the Weasley twins to be sorted. /p
p"Freya Rowle." She called. Freya calmly walked to the stool, hopped up and waited for the hat to decide. Hermione glanced over her shoulder at Rowle and could have sworn he was muttering, 'Not Slytherin. Why wouldn't he want his children to follow him into Slytherin?' She turned back just as the hat called out. /p
p"Gryffindor!" Freya smiled as she hopped down, hugged her brother and went to her new table. /p
p"Stryker Rowle." He took a deep breath and strode forward to the stool. He sat down and she put the hat back on him. She wondered what Rowle's reaction had been to his daughter's new house. /p
pThe hat took slightly longer deciding Stryker's house but finally yelled out. "Hufflepuff!" Hermione's eyes widened at that. She didn't dare look around at him. 'If Gryffindor hadn't offended him, surely Hufflepuff would'. Stryker jumped off the stool smiling as he headed to his new table. Next came the last two students, her very own son and daughter. /p
p"Hugo Weasley." She called. Hugo strode forward with a loose-limbed confidence that his father had lacked at that age. She wondered where the hat would put him. Her question was swiftly answered. /p
p"Slytherin!" The hat yelled less than a minute later. Hugo snuck a quick look at her. She smiled at him reassuringly. He went to his new table. /p
p"Rose Weasley." She called the last name on the list. Rose strode forward and locked a piercing stare on the old, ragged hat. Then she took a seat. Almost before, Hermione had fully placed the hat, it yelled its answer. /p
p"Ravenclaw!" Rose smiled in satisfaction. It was evident that she'd been placed exactly where she wanted to be. Hermione tapped the scroll which rolled itself back up. Then she returned to the teacher's table. She seated herself next to Rowle before she looked at him. McGonagall tapped her glass once more as she made another announcement. /p
p"Attention, students. In years past, students weren't allowed to mingle with other houses due to house rivalry. I've been trying to correct the problem, but I would love to see more house unity. Therefore, students will be allowed to sit at other tables, with friends and siblings. However, I do ask that you start the meal at your house table before you move around. Now, enjoy your meal and let's have a great year of school." She smiled as the feast appeared. /p
pStryker waited long enough for the food to appear, loaded down his plate and immediately moved over to the Gryffindor table with his sister. Hugo joined them from the Slytherin table and Rose left the Ravenclaw table to join them. Thorfinn motioned to them. "Look. They might have better chance of being friends than we did, Granger."/p
pHermione observed their children chattering happily as they ate. "True. They might, but also remember that there was already several years between the two of us by the time WE met. So, nobody would expect you to pay attention to a first year. You were already a fourth year by the time I came to Hogwarts."/p
pFreya leaned forward to look at Rose. "So, is your mother seeing anyone?" Stryker frowned at her in confusion. Freya hugged him, ruffling his hair. He pulled away, huffing in annoyance as he smoothed his hair back down. Freya laughed at him. Rose was carefully avoiding looking at him. /p
p"No, she isn't. Nana, Lavender and Pansy keep trying to set her up on blind dates, but she always finds an excuse to get out of them. Who knows, though, maybe we'll have better luck." She and Freya grinned at each other. /p
p"So, what's the plan or do we have a plan yet?" Hugo asked lightly. Before the girls could answer, the boys who had shoved him around earlier showed up. /p
p"Oi! Your mum and dad were part of the Trio, back in the war years ago, right?" They asked Hugo, who nodded warily. They looked at Stryker. "What are you doing over here with HIM, then? His dad was a death eater! What would your mummy and daddy think of your new friends?" Hugo and Stryker both had stiffened. Before Stryker could say anything, Hugo stood up. /p
p"My mum would be pretty damn proud! If you don't believe me, go ask her! My dad would be proud of me, too!" He snapped at them. Stryker stood up and looked down at them. He didn't have to say a word. They immediately backed off and went back to the other end of the Gryffindor table. Stryker dropped his head and walked out of the Great Hall, Hugo on his heels. /p
pThorfinn had frozen as soon as the confrontation started. When the boys walked out, Hermione put her hand on his arm. "You catch up to the boys. I'll speak to the girls and see what that was all about." Thorfinn nodded and headed after the boys. /p
pShe walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down between Rose and Freya. "What did those boys say to upset him?"/p
p"They were being stupid wankers!" Freya snapped angrily, dashing away a few stray tears. Hermione turned to Rose for some answers. Rose sighed, knowing better than to refuse to answer. Her mum would just keep digging until she told her. /p
p"They were making fun of Hugo being over here, hanging out with Stryker just because of Stryker's dad being a death eater during the war." She reluctantly told her mother. Hermione closed her eyes. 'It had been 19 years ago, for Merlin's sake! Couldn't people just let it go already?' If this was the kind of attitude Thorfinn had faced the last 19 years, she could see why he still seemed on guard sometimes. /p
pThorfinn paused outside the door, listening carefully. He heard faint voices from his left and followed them down the hall. The closer he came, the clearer they were. "It's no good, Hugo. Nobody is ever going to forget about it. You might as well go back and start making friends in your own house. Frankly, I'll be surprised if Hufflepuff doesn't end up booting ME out and sending me to join you. 'All the big, bad wizards came from Slytherin!' Not a one of them was Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor! 'Oh, no, they were the GOOD houses! Slytherin is the bad house! Bad Slytherin, bad Slytherin!' You might want to watch out, Hugo, they might accuse you of being a junior death eater!" He could hear his son ranting angrily./p
p"Listen. Do you think I'm worried about them? Not no, but bloody hell NO, as my dad would say! Let them talk! Words don't hurt unless you let them. My mum always tells me that. Hufflepuff is lucky to have you. To be perfectly honest, I wish you had gone to Slytherin with me. Now I'm stuck hanging around with my cousin if you really don't want me hanging out with you. My sister and I were more worried about people teasing us over our parents being divorced. It's almost unheard of, you know." Hugo told him calmly. Thorfinn decided to hang back and see if Hugo was really able to calm Stryker down now./p
p"I figured they'd be doing the same thing to me and Freya, too. Because of our parents. They're divorced, too. Mum lives in the States with her husband. We've never met her. She left right after she had us." Peering around the corner, Thorfinn saw his son standing at the window, staring outside. Hugo stood next to him. His arms crossed as he frowned sternly./p
p"Just so you know, there was a Gryffindor death eater. His name was Peter Pettigrew. He was actually friends with my uncle Harry's dad in school." At Stryker's shocked look, Hugo shrugged. "According to what I've heard of him over the years, he was a big part of why there was a second war. He helped bring back that Voldemort fellow."/p
p"You really don't want to hang around with your cousin? You'd sooner hang out with me? You aren't afraid people will think I'm a bad influence on you?" Stryker tipped his head as he stared curiously at Hugo./p
pHugo patted him on the back. "Yeah, I'd sooner hang out with you. And who knows, I might turn out to be a bad influence on YOU! Besides, we have some planning to do."/p
p"Wait, what kind of planning?" Stryker asked, trailing slowly after Hugo as he started back up the hall. Thorfinn ducked into an empty room as they passed him. Then he fell in behind them as he thought about his wasted youth. His bad decisions had seemed to make sense at the time. Now his children were paying the price of those decisions. He was so lost in thought that he completely missed the conversation between the two boys./p
p"Getting your dad and my mum together, of course. Just think, we could be stepbrothers soon." Hugo nudged Stryker's arm. Stryker frowned./p
p"I'm not sure about that. Everyone I know who has a stepmother hates them. I mean, your mum might be nice, but would she stay nice?" He bit his lip./p
p"Yeah, my mum is very nice. Especially if you hurt yourself or get sick. She gives great cuddles and she'll stay right with you until you're better." Hugo confided./p
p"But if my dad marries your mum, that means I'd be Rose's brother, too. Bloody, fucking hell!" Stryker swore. He jumped as a heavy hand dropped into his shoulder. He gulped as his father spoke./p
p"What did you just say?" Thorfinn asked sternly. "What has your nana told you about cussing, young man?" They had just reached Rose, Freya and Hermione, all of whom along with Hugo, were desperately trying to keep from bursting out laughing. Stryker was staring wide-eyed up at his dad./p
p"Cussing is vulgar and Rowle's aren't vulgar. We are gentlemen and respectful. We say please, thank you and excuse me. We hold doors open and pull chairs back." He recited. From the monotonous tone, Hermione was willing to bet that he'd had much practice saying this. It was proven when he grinned at his dad. "So don't be cussing in front of me anymore, dad."/p
pThorfinn pulled him close and ducked his face into his son's hair as he bellowed with laughter. The child had very neatly ratted him out in front of Granger./p